Large Sickle Blade
Bandia / Benge / Boa / Nsakara / Yakoma, D.R. Congo / C.A. Republic
Forged iron, wood, vegetable fiber, copper and iron tape, copper sheet
Late 19th / early 20th century

Large sickle weapons comparable to this example pervade the northern D.R. Congo and Central African Republic. This variation was most commonly found among the Bandia, Benge, Boa, Nsakara, Yakoma, but was also known to be used by the Ngbandi and Binji. Smaller versions of this type were used functionally, in hunting or warfare, but the extra large version such as this were reserved for ceremonial purposes, even though the inner edge was kept sharp, like its functional equivalents.

In the evolutionary context of types, this weapon is certainly one of the more important. With this weapon, we see the point at which a knife sits on the verge of becomg a throwing knife. Indeed, this represents one of the first African knife types where the front side was heavily textured, and the back side was deliberately kept completely flat, which – like the wing of an airplane – is a significant contributor to its aerodynamics.

Also, given that a change from the simple to the more complex was the evolutionary direction of African knives, we can see how complex throwing knives descended from types such as this incredibly sophisticated sickle blade, which itself evolved from much simpler forms (Elsen, Tribal Arms Monographs, Vol. 1 No. 1, 1996, Fatal Beauty: Traditional Weapons from Central Africa, 2013).

Mounted on a custom display stand, pictured below. 

Published: 100 African Blades, no. 58 (Rider, 2021). 

30.5 in :: 77.5 cm

InventoryID #13-1087

SOLD